By Scott Buckner

Part 1: Midnight Bus To Markham.
With Christmas Day now history, it was time to head back to southwest Missouri, where the winters are more hospitable for people who prefer polar vortexes to be some other poor sap’s misery. This time, departure from Greyhound’s stop ‘n’ drop (it’s not even a station; it’s a tiny storefront in a sorry-looking strip mall) in south suburban Markham was a more-reasonable 8:20 a.m., which meant daylight and the ability to see the countryside.
As it happens though, there are just some places you really don’t need to see in broad daylight, like south suburban neighborhoods where even a sorry-looking strip mall is probably doing the adjacent property values a favor.
Or, for that matter, the landscape of pretty much the entire length of Interstate 57.

Read More

Posted on February 8, 2016

By Helene Smith

Addison & Elston.
(ENLARGE FOR PROPER VIEWING)

Read More

Posted on February 5, 2016

‘Group Of Postwar Artists Established The First Unique Chicago Style’

“This is the first major exhibition to examine the history and impact of the Monster Roster, which has been overlooked despite being one of the most important Midwestern contributions to the development of American art,” the Smart Museum says.
“Spearheaded by Leon Golub and united by a shared interest in the figure during a period that is often seen as dominated by abstraction, the group created deeply psychological works that drew on classical mythology and ancient art.
“It examines not only the complex aesthetics and personal styles of Golub and his compatriots – including Cosmo Campoli, June Leaf, Dominick Di Meo, Seymour Rosofsky, and Nancy Spero, among others – but also uncovers the Monster Roster’s relationships with preceding generations of Chicago artists and differences from the well-known Chicago Imagists who followed.”

Read More

Posted on February 3, 2016

By Scott Buckner

I’m no stranger to traveling by Greyhound bus. I call it Riding The Dog. That’s not out of obvious reference to the company’s galloping canine logo, but rather because it’s an apt description of the sort of travel experience that awaits you, like the one you might expect from Amtrak if its logo was a hobo.
It’s not that I’m partial to Riding The Dog, or enjoy it much, because there are faster ways to get somewhere. It’s just that my visit back home to Chicago always seem to happen during the winter, when travel through Illinois is best left to a bobsled. If the odds favor sliding off into an icy, snow-filled interstate ditch, I’d rather have the tangled wreckage be Greyhound’s headache, not mine.

Read More

Posted on February 1, 2016